Airplane



-5, 3 I 'B. B. PHILLIPS 1,990,308

AIRPLANE Filed ma 11, 1953 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 z QWMN- B. B, PHILLIPS Feb.5, 1935- IRPLA 3 Sheet 2 Filed May 1933 c. (WA? B. B. PHILLIPS Feb. 5,1935.

AIRPLANE Filed May 11, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Feb. 5, 1935 vUNITED STATES.

PATENT. FlcEf 7 I A A E]...

Byron B. Phillips. Stuyvesant Fal1s,- N.-Y. [Application May 1i, 1933,"seml ivoievosoi v'ol'aihis. (o1. 2:14-18) This invention relatestoimprovements in airplanes.

As is well known, the forces which sustain an improvementsin airplaneprinciples and design" have provided ships which do-not requirerelatively long landing fields, no ship has been developed ;,whichsatisfactorily permits vertical rising and landing. a An importantobject of the present invention is to provide an airplane embodying"novel principles of operation which permit the develop ment'of thenecessary differential sustaining pressures on the upper and lowersurfaces of the plane without any forward movement of the ship. v Afur'therobject is'to provide 'an'airplane having a power source which isoperative when the plane is at rest for generating a suflicien't lift tocause the plane to rise from the ground; andwherein the power source isopera'tive'for imparting forward movement to" the plane. n

A further object is to provide novelbalanced propelling means operativeformaterially reduc ing pressures adjacent the upper surfacesof theplane to impart a lifting force thereto for moving the planehorizontally, and to provide means for unbalancing the propelling forcesto effect forward movement of the ship.

A further object is to provide means for vary 40 ing the reduction inair pressures above the ship:

to efiect lateral stabilization thereof.

A further object is to provide a vertically movable stabilizer operativewhenthe ship isnot moving forwardly to effect longitudinalstabilization.

mg propellers adapted to act in oppo 'sitionto each other to effect areduction in pressure therebe tween and to utilize suchpressure'reduction to assist in sustaining the plane. and to provide 5following description."

A further object "is to provide'an airplane hav-L means for utilizingthe propellers to move the In thedrawingsfhave shown several embodimentsof the invention. ,In this'showin Figure 1, is a front elevation of'faplane embodying one form of the inventiofu v a Figure Z'isa sideelevation of the same; 5

Figure Sis a plan view, g 1 Figured-is a section on line 4-4 of Figure3, the rearstructure of the ship being omitted,

. Figure 5 is a similarview taken substantially m online 55 of '-Figure'3, i a Figure 6 is'a similar view on line 6-6 of Fig- -ure 3,

Figure 7 isa sectional view similar to Figure 5 showing a somewhatmodified form of plane,

Figure 8 is a detail view of one form of propeller, V f i a Figure 9 isa plan view of a further modified form of ship, and, e T

' Figure 10 is'a front elevation of the same.

Referring to'Figures 1, 2 and 3, the numeral 10 designates the body oftheship having oppositely extending wings 11 connected thereto.. Thebody 10 forms the fuselage of the ship and may be sup: ported on theground in any suitable or conventional manner,- such as by the use offorward landing wheels 12 and a tail skid 13. j The body 10 is in theform of a'longitudinally extending tube having a passageway 14 extendingthroughoutits length and open at both ends. The passage 14 forms atunnel and at opposite end's of-this' tunnel are arranged forward andrear propellers 15 and 16 of types to be; referred to later. Referringto Figure 4fthe propellers are shown as being driven by suitable motors1'] and 18 supported inthe tube may suitable supporting frames 19.

The wings 11 are hollow, as'shown in Figures 5, and 6 andcommunicate'with the interior of the tube IO'through openings 20. Theseopenings are controlledby shutters '21 so that the relative de gree ofcommunication between the two wings 11 and the tube 10 may be varied fora purpose to a be described. The controls for the shutters have not beenshown in detail, but it will be notedthat each shutter is pivoted as at22 and maybe provided witha crank arm 23. The crank arms of the shuttersat each side of the tube 10 aiepreferably connected together forsimultaneous operation. i

Referring to Figures 3, 5 and 6, it will benoted that each wing 11 isprovided with a plurality of suitably distributed openings24 toward. theforward portions of the wings and preferably elongated openings 25arearranged rearwardly of the openings 24.." All of these openings areprovided for the same purpose, and the reason for distributing them willbecome apparent. Each of the upper wing openings 24 and 25, is providedwith a plurality of shutters 26, and each shutter is pivoted as at 2'7.Each shutter is further provided with an operating arm 28, and the armsof each set of shutters are connected by a link 29. The forward end ofeach link 29 is connected by a link 30 to one end of an arm 31 rotatableby a shaft 32, and the-various shafts 32 are connected togetherfonsimultaneous operation from the cockpit in any desired manner.

The fuselage is provided above its forward end with a cockpit or driverscompartment 33 having. a window 34 at its forward end. Rearwardly' ofthe cockpit, the fuselage is providedwith anelon rear ends .of:thewall-36. Each opening38 and 39.

is provided witha'pluralitylof shutters 40 each of which is pivoted asat41 and-provided with a depending arm 42. The lower ends of the arms 42of each set of shutters 40 are connected by a link 43 and eachoftheselinks'is pivotally connectfedto the upper end ofan arm 44carriedby av rod 45 extending forwardly into the cockpit and controlled by asuitable'operating lever 46. The

lever 46 also is preferably connected toithe shafts- 32 previouslydescribedwhereby the shutters 26 of the wingsandtheshutters- 40 of thetop of the fuselage will be simultaneously opened and closed uponoperation of the lever 46. a

The forward end of the fuselage adjacent the, drivers compartment iscurved or sloped downwardly as .at 47, and beneath the wall 47isarranged -a-hood 48. The hood 48 is connected at its ends to a shaft49 -having an operating arm 50 within'the tube .10. A, similar hood 51is arranged-rearwardly of thefuselage, andis nor- P as mally disposedwithinthe recess 35. The rear hocd 5 1 isconnected-at its ends toashaft; 52

having an arm 5 3 depending therefromv The arms 50 and 53 are-connectedby a link 54 for simultaneous operation. Such operation may be effectedby a rod 55projecting downwardly from the drivers compartment andconnected at its lowerend to an" arm 56extending rearwardly from theshaft 49.

The-wings- 11 are provided with the usualailerons 57 which.are employedonly when, theship is'moving forwardly, and theseailerons are subject toconventionalcontrol. Asternstructure 58 projectsrearwardly of thefuselage and carries 'stabilizer s59and arudder 60. These elements also,are subject .to-: conventionalcontrol,

but they are not employed when the shipv'isj-ri'sing .or landingvertically inasmuchias their operation obviously depends on horizontalmotion of the ship, Instationary, flight, lateral stabilization issecured by controlling the shutters 20 zinga mannerto be described whilelongitudinal'stabi lization is accomplished through a stabilizer 61arranged at the rear endof the fuselage and con,-

trolled by a lever 62 having suitable connection 24 and 25 and, theircontrolling shutters. In

Figure 7, it; will be noted that a tube or fuselage operating arm 68.The arm 68 may be suitably controlled from the. drivers compartment.

' A further modified form of the invention is shown in Figures 9 and 10,and except for the features to be referred to, this structure is similarto the plane shown in Figures 1 to 6 inclusive and need not be referredto in detail. The only differences involved lie in the provision of dualtunnels or fuselages 69 each ofwhich is similar to the fuselage; 10except that the top wall 36 extends throughout the length of eachfuselage. The driver's compartment may be made substantially'longer asat '70 and is arranged centrally of the width of the ship. Q

As will become apparent,conventional propellers of the fixed blade typecannot be employed with the present invention, The forward propellers 15are of the variable pitch reversible type,

while the rear-propellers 16 are 'variable'in pitch,

but need not be reversible. The present invention does not relate to thepropellers per se, and any satisfactorytypes of reversible and variablepitch propellers may be employed. One such propeller has beenillustrated conventionallyin Figure 8 as comprising a hub '71 and blades72. Each blade is provided with a bevel gear 73 meshing with a thirdbevel gear '74 whichjmay be rotated in any suitable mannervto alter thepitchof the blades or to reverse the pitch when'the propeller is used atthe forward end of, the ship. As previous ly stated, the propeller inFigure 8 is merely a conventional representation, and any of the 1 wellknown types of variable pitch and reversible propellers may be used. 1It also will be apparent that the blades of the propellers willbecontrolled from the cockpit oftheship.

shown in Figures 1 to6 inclusive is as follows:

The motors are placed in operation and when it is desired to take-off,the propellers 15 and 16 are suitably adjustedto pump air outwardly fromthe tunnel14. Where, one motor is employed amidshipswithboth propellersrotating in the same direction, it will be apparent thatthe blades ofthe propeller 15;will be arranged withtheir pitch opposite and equal tothe pitch of the blades 16. Where two motors are employed, they mayrotate in the same or in opposite direction's, and in the latter case,the blades of the propellers 15 The operation of the form ofthefinvention and 16 will'be similarly and equally pitched since theywill-be rotating in opposite directions.

Under the conditions referred to, it will be apparent that thepropellers will have no longitudinal propelling effect on the ship sincetheir horizontal reactions will be equal. Prior to takingoff,

theaviator will open all of the shutters 26 and 40, thus affordingcommunication between the fuselage and ,the interiors of therecess 35andwings 11. The pumping of air from the tunnel 14 by the oppositely,acting propellers. materially reduces the pressure in the tunnel, andthis pressure. is communicated to the recess 35 and to the interiors ofthe wings 11. Thus air will be drawn downwardly through the shutters, 26and 4( ito r ammo materially reduce the 'pressur" e-adasmmhmp:

per surfaces of the planefthus creating the saine effect as is presentwith a conventtonal' loiirpiane in horiz'ontalflight. ain otherwords-differential lifting arid sustaining prem be nreated" "above andbelow 'the' plane,- whereby-the air ipres sure beneaththe' plane willcanseiit .torisei' verti- 33,1151; I'Zfll'i Y .Q' .12 Vivi '5. The totallifting-force developed wlll depend upon the pitches andsizesof thepropellers, and the. speed or -rotation,?and: -:in night,- the pltchesand speed of rotation' a're' varied eocoidingto"the height to which theplan 'e 'iselevatedw When the desired elevation is' reachedpthe operatorwill slowly reduce the pitch" of the. blades ofthe' 'probeen turned sothat their pitch is substantially,

zero, the plane will be in horizontal flight, at which time the shutters26 and 40 may be closed. The

blades of the propeller 15 then may be turned to correspond in pitch tothe blades of the propeller 16 whereby their reactions are added toincrease the horizontal speed of the ship. Inasmuch as air will bemoving rearwardly through the tunnel 14 at a relatively great velocityunder such conditions, the blades of the propeller 16 may be turned toincrease their pitch beyond the pitch of the blades of the propeller 15to increase the reactionary effect of the propeller 16 and further addto the speed of the vehicle.

It will be noted that the use of the hoods 48 and 51 is not essential tothe operation of the'plane, but their use is desirable to increase thelifting effect as the plane rises vertically from the ground. Byswinging the hoods downwardly, the outwardly moving air projected by thepropeller when the plane is ready to take-off, strikes against the hoodand is deflected downwardly to create a direct vertical reaction tendingto lift the plane from the ground.

To secure lateral stabilization, the shutters of the two wings may beseparately controlled to vary the effective openings through the wingsand thus vary the lifting force on one side of the plane. It ispreferred however, that the wing shutters be operated simultaneouslywith each other and with the shutters 40, and accordingly the shutters21 are provided. These shutters are normally open and if one wing tendsto rise as the plane moves vertically, the shutters 21 on the risingside of the plane are closed or partially closed to reduce thedifferential pressure acting on the upper and lower surfaces of therising wing, thus laterally stabilizing the plane. The same effect issecured in the form of the invention shown in Figure 7 by selectivelyopening and closing the shutters 66, the shutter on the rising side ofthe plane being opened to reduce the pressure acting beneath such sideof the plane. It will be apparent that when the ship is movinghorizontally under full headway, lateral stabilization is accomplishedthrough the usual ailerons 57.

When the plane is moving vertically, longitudiversible blades.

ma stabilizationisvs'ecuredthrough the stabilizer 61. If the plane:tends to upwardly; the

upon pressure -from'ithei'rearwardlyxmoving column of air from-thepropeller:"1B will cause an up 3 wardreaetion at therearend-.oftheplane. If-the plane inclines downwardlyi and; forwardly, .it?will be imparent that the stabilizer '61 will be turned upwardly. Duringforward flight,-:.however,:the stabilizers: 59 may :be; employed tosecure .longitudinal stabilization; and ytheystabilizer 61:;n'eed notbeoperatedi.-,-: 1

Frornithe foregoing will be that the present invention provides a planewherein differential elevating and sustaining pressures are 'secured;without any forward motion of the "plane, thus permitting the ishipv to1 land and take-"off vertically-"z Thus the plane "is able [to utilize aflying; field-mot substantially :larger than its I own size. It alsowill be apparent -.that after the proper. elevation has been attained,the plane is readily cmisedto'imove f-orwardly merely by.distributing'the counteractingforces of the forward and" rear propellersthe manner previously stated. As the plane-approachesits landing "field,its headway-readily :s'lackened merely by the adjustment ofxthe bladesof: the forward propeller so that the ship will be partially sustainedthrough its forward motion and partially through the reduced pressuresabove the plane when the forward propellers are adjusted inthe mannerjust described and the shutters 26 and 40 are opened. Thus the greatestpossible degree of maneuverability is provided. In the form of theinvention shown in Figures 1 to 6 inclusive, a single motor may be usedamidships, or forward and aft motors may be,

Moreover, it will be ap-' pitches simultaneously changed to secure thede- 3 sired results. 1

It is to be understood that the forms of the invention herewith shownand described are to be,

tween said tunnel and the atmosphere, means for controllingcommunication through said openings, sustaining surfaces conneotedtosaid body, and propellers arranged within said tunnel adjacent oppositeends thereof and equally and oppositely operative for exhausting "airtherefrom, the forward propeller having variable pitch re- 2. Anaircraft comprising a body structure including supporting wings and asubstantially horizontal longitudinal tunnel open at both ends,

ings communicating with said tunnel, and propellers arranged in saidtunnel adjacent opposite I endsthereof and operative for exhausting airtherefrom at equal rates, and means for adjust- I ing one of saidpropellers to cause the rear propeller to exhaust air at a greater ratethan the forward propeller.

3. An aircraft comprising a body structure intially horizontal tunnelextending longitudinally cluding' hollow supportingwings'and a substanof a the aircraft and open at both ends, said wings communicating, withsaid 'tunnel' and being pro:- vided with top openings, and propellersarranged in said tunnel adjacent opposite ends thereof and operative forexhausting air Ltherei-rom,"-the forward propeller being provided withvariable pitch reversible blades. i y X 4. An aircraftcomprising'a bodystructure including hollowsupporting wings and a substantiallyhorizontal tunnel extending longitudinally of the aircraft and open atboth ends, said -wings communicating with said tunneland being'pro videdwith'top openings; andpropellersarranged in said tunneladjacentopposite' ends thereof-and operative for exhaustingairtherefrom, the forward propeller being provided with variable pitchreversible blades, theprear propeller having variable pitch blades. r 1

5. An aircraft comprising sustaining-wings and a hollow body having alongitudinal tunnel therethrough of substantially uniformcross-sectional area from end'to endfand open" at both" ends, theaircraft being provided with vtop openings communicating withsaddtunneL-and a propeller arranged within said turmel adjacent each endthereof, saidpropellers being equally and ppov,

w ;?90308 I t v sitelyoperatiyeetorexhaustin'g airiromsaid-tunv I nel,"the i'orward prdpeller having variable'pitch reversiblebladesry-r\Anaircraft; comprising may, includinga horizontal tunnel: open at itsendap said bodybeing provided with top openings communicating betweensaid tunnel: and the'uatmospheragmeans for controlling communicationthrough said openings, sustaining surfaces ,-connected' toisaid body,and propellers; arrangediwithin, said tunnel adjacent opposite? endsthereof and oppositely operative exhausting ,airv therefrom; the forwardpropelierbeingsreversiblm r 17. AnaircraIt' comprising-a a horizontaltunnel open at both ends, hollow sustaining surfaces. connected to saidbody and .com-

municating therewith, said said sus-p ings for affording communicationbetween r'said tunnel and thev atmosphere; means for controllingsuchcommunication; and propellers arranged within said tunnel adjacentopposite ends-thereof: and oppositely operative for creating the passageofair through said openings for increasing the ditl'erential pressureabove and'below the aircraft tending :to sustain being reversible.

- BYRON -B'.'PHILL]1='S.

it, one of said propellers

